HP MediaSmart Server questions

J

jrg70

Weaksauce
Joined
Jun 23, 2004
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I'm looking at getting the MediaSmart EX 470.
I've read quite a few reviews and forum postings (on this site and others) and I think it's a pretty good fit for what I want. I have a couple of questions for anyone that has one.

When it comes to adding hard drives: Are there any pit falls with getting the same size or type of drives? I'll probably get the EX470 (500GB) version and immediately put in an additional drive. Probably a 750GB or 1TB. Is there anything wrong with having a 500GB and 1TB together? In the future I'll probably add anther drive also.

itunes Server: These seems like a very nice feature. And one that is going to prove to be very important for me. But, will it allow you to play protected media (such as items purchased from itunes)?

Are files on the MediaSmart server copies of files from each users PC or do they only exist on the server? Pictures, Videos, Music Files, Documents. Do they stay on the main users PC and on the Server or only on the Server?

My main reason for getting this Server is for backup purposes and to make things easier for my family (mostly my wife). I want her to be able to use the main work station in our house (running Vista) or her notebook (running XP) and have all the files “appear” to be in the same place and be very seamless. I want her to be able to edit or create a word document on the work station and be able to go back to that document later from the notebook and edit it some more with out her having to navigate to the work station through the server to get the document. I need to make sure there are not multiple version of files laying on each PC and the server. I assume it all depends on how it's set up, but I would like to make sure I can configure it like that.

Once I get things configured I would like to have the server holding all the files we use (music, photos, videos, documents). If “copies” of those files are still kept locally on each PC, I would like them to be automatically synced across all the PCs and the Server. Have all those files duplicated on two physical drives on the server. I have an older External USB Drive that I would like to hook up to the Server through the external USB and have the server store backups on that also. Yes it may be overkill, but as soon as I get it set up I won't have to interact with it and I'll be pretty well protected.

Sorry for the long one, but any feedback is appreciated.
 
create a "home" folder for her.
then map a network drive to this folder.
then right-click on My Documents and properties. Change the "Location" to her mapped drive. Make sure she saves everything in her My Documents, and it will be saved on the server.
Then, you can My Documents "available offline" which will then create a copy of everything on the local computer.

set up same way on laptop and desktop, and should be good.
 
What j-sta said.

With regard to drive compatability, I'm currently using the 500GB that came with the server along with an additional 500GB drive and two 1TB drives. No problems at all.

Also note that you'll need at least one 32 bit PC on your network in order to do the initial setup of the server before you install any 64 bit client. I had to dual boot 32 bit Vista just to do the initialization process so I could access the 64 bit software stored on the server. Why they don't make it downloadable, I have no idea.

Keep in mind that any drive you add to the server is (by default) added to the storage pool, and you won't be able to see which hard drive which files are stored on anyway. That's not how the server works. All you need to do is set up the computers to get synced, set up/fill any other folders you want on the server, and then enable Folder duplication for the folders you want backed up. Windows Home Server will take care of the rest and create additional copies of your files and span them over the storage pool to minimize your losses if one of the drives fails.
 
Thanks for the heads up regarding the 64 bit install.

I actually don't have a 32 bit PC, so I "borrowed" one and attempted the install.

I found this page regarding the process
(http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...us&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN#c06562c)

I installed the software using the the 32 bit machine.
I checked the version it's running and it is: 1.1.1.13411
I'm supposed to update to 1.3.6.21622
I click on "check for updates" and it says there a none.
It says the last update was on 10/16/2007

How can I get this update?

Any thoughts?
 
I could not figure out what was going on last night. But I took the Server to work today and hooked it up to the network. It found updates and installed them, then I installed PP1 and now I should be good to go tonight with my Vista 64 bit machine...Hopefully.

Thanks!
 
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